The Pope County Quorum Court approved an ordinance Thursday entering into an agreement with Capstone Oil Field Disposal of Arkansas and Rheba — a name under which Capstone applied for a well permit after its initial application was denied — settling all pending litigation against the company and agents of assigns.

Capstone, which had wished to acquire a permit to dispose at a well in Center Valley, was initially denied its saltwater disposal well permit in October 2009 by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC) after the commission heard several complaints regarding Capstone’s history in other counties and states, particularly from Johnson County.

Capstone was awarded a permit in March 2010 before having its permit revoked and well shut down in May of this year.

Per the agreement, if any gas company, Capstone included, purchases the well and acquires a permit to dispose at the location in Center Valley, Pope County will not file a suit against the company in an attempt to keep it from using the well. In return, the company agrees to pay $6,000 every year through the Pope County Quorum Court to be payable to the PTO of the Center Valley School, due Nov. 1 of each year the disposal well is in operation.

In addition to the $6,000, the company agreed its “operation shall only be in the daylight hours and no trucks, equipment, etc., shall be operational on Sundays.”

“I’m not necessarily 100 percent pleased with this agreement,” said Dusty Hampton, a Justice of the Peace for the district in which Capstone installed its disposal well who led opposition against the company. “I like the idea of them not operating the trucks at night and not on Sundays, and I like the idea of our community having some investment put into it, so there is a little bit of benefit of them being there.”

The request for the $6,000 to be transported to the Center Valley school was met with opposition from some of the Justices, who argued the money should be spread throughout the county as county taxdollars funded legal fees throughout the case against Capstone.

“I could support it if it weren’t for the $6,000 going to the Center Valley school every year,” Justice Philip Haney said. “I feel like that should be spread around. This is a culmination of all tax dollars of all the citizens in this county. I know that well is in this community, but everyone’s tax dollars have gone toward supporting the case against this.”

Hampton, who’s spent the last two years fighting Capstone and whose term expires at the end of the year, argued because the well is in the Center Valley community, the benefit of the well should be seen by its nearby residents.

“I think that this type of facility is a facility that our community will have to live with,” he said. “It’s where it’s at, and it’s an agreement to where this company is investing in that community to bring something positive.”

Hampton said that approval of the ordinance doesn’t mean the company will be awarded the permit. Hampton added because of the timeliness of the agreement due to Capstone’s pursuit of a permit, the agreement would likely be unavailable at next month’s meeting. He also said that he agreed to the settlement because of his expiring term and because he didn’t want the rest of the court to have to continue to the settlement.

The ordinance, read three times Thursday, passed unanimously. In other business, the Pope County Quorum Court approved:

• An ordinance appropriating a FEMA port security grant in the sum of $1,098,958 plus interest to be returned to its issuer.

• An ordinance appropriating $71,633.93 from the general fund to be put toward an expansion of the Pope County Senior Center.

• An ordinance appropriating $15,465 from various grant funds to the Pope County Sheriff’s Office and the Pope County Library for equipment.

• An ordinance appropriating $3,714.33, including a $2,500 donation, to the Pope County Sheriff’s Office for small equipment and parts and repairs.

• An ordinance appropriating $1,627.50 from the general fund to the county clerk for website support.

• An ordinance appropriating $620 from the burn ban fines fund to miscellaneous law enforcement, to go to the Pope County Firefighter’s Association.

• An ordinance transfering the following: $1,500 and a $500 from other professional services in the election commission to social security and retirement matching, respectively; $4,000 from Circuit Judge William Pearson’s Automation Fund’s machinery and equipment fund to the small equipment fund; and $1,627.50 from the treasurer’s Automation Fund’s machineray and equipment fund to the website support fund.

• An ordinance rescheduling the Pope County Quorum Court Budget Committee and regular court meeting from Dec. 2 and 6 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 11.

• A resolution declaring a vacancy in JP District 2 after former Justice Tom McMillen stepped down from his position and relocated out of state.